Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Soap operas are being taken off network TV, but at least we still have baseball.

By the way he’s portrayed, you’d expect St. Louis center fielder Colby Rasmus to be the guy with the badly dyed goatee and have ominous music every time he appears on screen. That’s at least the way Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (speaking of bad dye jobs) keeps playing it.

The latest barb? Speaking to KSDK-TV in St. Louis, La Russa said Rasmus doesn’t listen to the team’s coaches.

“No, he doesn’t listen to the Cardinal coaches much now, and that’s why he gets in these funks, in my opinion,” La Russa said, according to MLB.com. “If he would just stay with [basically] what they teach, he would have … but I actually feel concern for him, because he hears it from so many places, he’s got to be confused.”

That, of course, is a swipe at Rasmus’ dad, who has been critical of La Russa publically.

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I like Frasor enough, but that has to be a pretty damn big plus if you're getting Jackson for him. Plus I don't think Jackson (plus) nets you Rasmus, given that Jackson (IIRC) is going to be a free agent in the offseason.

Edit: Okay, I didn't see the MLB Trade Rumors post that claims that this is the exact scenario that's rumored to be going down. That's odd.

I'm not at all sure that Rasmus' problems have to do with coaching. They look like Sophomore Slump to me. Colby is odd, in that he first came to the majors during a down year, had his first good year last year, and is, in terms of adjustments to the big leagues, effectively a sophomore. I think that's a lot of why the Cards don't want to trade him. It's also probably a lot of why he will listen to any coach, including his father. He's not sure why he isn't as good as he was last year, and does not perceive of himself as a Sophomore. But by my theories of Sophomore Slump are that it is one symptom of a larger issue in which players adjust to the league and then the league adjusts back, and then the player counter-adjusts, etc. Normally, a player comes up during a hot season, so the Sophomore one is weak. Colby just has had a weird career. Now, the personality issues I know nothing about. - Brpck Hanke

I heard a rumor for Rasmus to the Yanks for Banuelos, Nunez and Montero, but I have a hard time believing Montero is moved for anything but a frontline pitcher, and I don't know what the Yanks do with Rasmus.

I think the Cards will want more than an Edwin Jackson-level guy for Rasmus, who is under team control through 2014 and has all that glittery "potential".

if rasmus comes on the market, the phillies had damn well better go for broke in trying to get him. i wouldn't move brown for him, and i'd really like to keep valle, but worley, cosart, singleton, may, pettibone, etc. should all be on the table if rasmus is.

if rasmus comes on the market, the phillies had damn well better go for broke in trying to get him. i wouldn't move brown for him, and i'd really like to keep valle, but worley, cosart, singleton, may, pettibone, etc. should all be on the table if rasmus is.

Wouldn't the Cards be trying to avoid sending him to a fellow NL contender at all costs?

I can see the Jays getting in on this. I think AA is going to be fun at the deadline.

Skills-wise, yes. He seems to play a bit distractedly at times (to my eyes, anyway), that can affect him negatively in the field. He strikes me as the kind of player who badly needs a fresh start in a relatively low-pressure environment. He needs a manager who will let off the gas and for his Dad to be a little less of a maniac. I think Toronto would be good for him. Although if all he nets is Edwin Jackson, I'm going to be mighty pissed.

Mark Teahen is also going to Toronto, and a prospect (most likely nothing special) is coming to the White Sox. It's more or less a salary dump on the Sox' end, although I could see the Sox keeping Frasor and dumping, say, Matt Thornton. From the Sox' perspective, that is essentially the motivation behind this deal -- dumping salary.

The move in isolation isn't bad for the Sox, but it's the culmination of two really silly moves -- signing Teahen to a three year, $12(ish) million extension immediately after trading for him, and trading five+ years of cost-controlled Daniel Hudson for a year-and-a-half (well, now only a year) of paid-at-market-value Edwin Jackson.

Wow, anything short of a world series and this is horrible for the cards.

I think I'd wait and see what prospects the Jays are sending along with Jackson. They've got a very good system (KLaw ranked it 2nd last week) and it seems clear they'll part with prospects (Stewart was a preseason #44) in a deal.

I heard a rumor for Rasmus to the Yanks for Banuelos, Nunez and Montero

Color me enormously skeptical that the Yankees would send so much talent in a trade for what would amount to a third center fielder, and one whose performance isn't nearly at the level of the two currently starting.

[quoteThe move in isolation isn't bad for the Sox, but it's the culmination of two really silly moves -- signing Teahen to a three year, $12(ish) million extension immediately after trading for him, and trading five+ years of cost-controlled Daniel Hudson for a year-and-a-half (well, now only a year) of paid-at-market-value Edwin Jackson.]

Yep. I would often defend KW in the past, but his latest strings of ineptitude (turning FDLS and Gio Gonzalez into a Betemit and this nonsense) has left me to realize that we're in pretty bad shape. I don't see how the Sox can turn things around unless KW departs.

Wow, anything short of a world series and this is horrible for the cards.

Welcome to the world of Cardinal trades under Mo.... where we have yet to come remotely close to a break even on any trade (except I guess the Holliday trade, and maybe Edmonds) but generally speaking Mo does not know trades.

Color me enormously skeptical that the Yankees would send so much talent in a trade for what would amount to a third center fielder, and one whose performance isn't nearly at the level of the two currently starting.

While I'm not generally one to buy into this sort of thinking, I believe NY would be an awful destination for Rasmus. I think the guy needs as much peace and Zen as possible right now.

39. DCW3? Posted: December 01, 2007 at 03:30 AM (#2630546)Unbefuckingleivable. Sure, dump the better, cheaper guy. Just because TLR hates him. For no reason. Other than he doesn't like the nickname "J-Rod."

No, there's definitely a reason. Think about all the players on the last couple Cardinal teams that La Russa clearly despises: John Rodriguez. Scott Rolen. Anthony Reyes. Brendan Ryan. Notice anything they all have in common? I'm confident that once Colby Rasmus makes it to the majors, La Russa will tell him to stop walking so much, bench him, and finally engineer a deal to trade him for Kris Benson.

####### horrible, horrible trade. Sell low on your young, talented, cost-controlled CFer. Get #### in return. I fully expect that Dotel and Zep and will force aside young relievers who are better than they are. I hope Rasmus lights the world on fire in Toronto. It's your team now, TLR. This team will probably win this crap division by a game or two and validate, in the eyes of too many, everything that's happened over the last six months or so. #### me.

Have you seen the Cardinals bullpen this year? We have 5 games that we lost in which we were up by multiple runs and had one out to go. We've blown 4 run leads in the 9th inning multiple times this year. I think we've blown 7 run leads in the 8th inning twice this year.(from memory not exactly sure of all the numbers)

Still it's a terrible trade. Rasmus for a free agent to be pitcher, a reliever with an option for next year and a semi-decent reliever at 25 years old who hasn't lit the world on fire. The Cardinals have traded away three better relievers(Chris Perez, Luke Gregerson, Blake Hawksworth) in the past few years for absolutely nothing remotely comparable to Rasmus. (only winning trade is Edmonds for Freese I would argue)

Silver lining, Miller and Tallet would no longer be Cardinals..... I'm assuming this is being done just to avoid 40 man roster issues. Miller, Tallet are utterly worthless, Tallet should be working at a Jiffy Lube someplace.

Corey Patterson, great a veteran that might somehow earn playing time over Craig, Jay or even Schumaker....

As a Jays fan this reminds me so much of the Escobar trade from last year. AA gave up more this time around but it's another very talented ballplayer who's struggling on the field and clashing with his organization. I can only hope Rasmus works out as well as Yunel.

So this gives the Blue Jays, what - three of the last four big trade swindles (Gonzalez for Kelly being the fourth)? Escobar for Gonzalez, Napoli for Wells (although they traded Napoli away for whatever reason), and this deal. Three instances of finding a guy who'd fallen out of favor with his team and giving up a big pile of nothing special for him. Not bad.

As a Jays fan this reminds me so much of the Escobar trade from last year. AA gave up more this time around but it's another very talented ballplayer who's struggling on the field and clashing with his organization. I can only hope Rasmus works out as well as Yunel.

No Lawrie and no Escobar. Mozeliak is either a fool or under TLR's thumb. Funny how the two look so similar.

For 3.5 CCed years of Rasmus, the Cardinals get one or two wins from swapping Jackson for McClellan in the rotation for a dozen starts and two relievers who might be worth a half-win between the two of them from here on out, assuming that they're used optimally. Cardinal fans can take solace in the fact that in return for a blue-chipper who put up 3-WAR seasons at the ages of 22 & 23, they'll enjoy 3+ years of Marc Rzepczynski. Sarcasm leads me to sell Rzepczynski a bit short, as he has nice minor-league numbers and could become a very good starter, but let's be realistic here: he throws with his left hand and has been a reliever all season, which pretty much dooms him to serve as Trever Miller's understudy and eventual successor.

Is now a good time to point out that Brendan Ryan has been a 2.5 WAR player this year, while Theriot continues to plug along at -0.8?

Edit: over/under on how many games it takes TLR to give Patterson a start at 2B?

i don't think rzep is getting enough credit here. to call him a reliever assumes that that's the role he'll be used in for the rest of his career, whereas i think it's much more likely that he was in that role only as a stepping stone for him to break into the majors before returning to the rotation.

he gets a ton of groundballs off his sinker, and he gets a ton of swinging strikes off his slider. he's really good.

Sarcasm leads me to sell Rzepczynski a bit short, as he has nice minor-league numbers and could become a very good starter, but let's be realistic here: he throws with his left hand and has been a reliever all season, which pretty much dooms him to serve as Trever Miller's understudy and eventual successor.

if they leave him in the bullpen without giving him a real shot at the rotation, i'd be dumbfounded.

if they leave him in the bullpen without giving him a real shot at the rotation, i'd be dumbfounded.

Maybe next season, but right now the Cardinals' rotation consists of Carpenter, Garcia, Lohse, Westbrook and Jackson. Westbrook had a lousy first half, but Rzepczynski's not displacing any of those guys.

McCllellan is getting screwed in this deal, but he seems to be really only a six inning starter anyway.

That was the original plan, but La Russa basically said yesterday that "he'll be back when he gets back," which doesn't sound good.

We should have also traded Laird so that we could have opened a roster spot for Craig. He went 2 for 4 yesterday and seems to be healthy. Of course if we trade Laird, then TLR doesn't use Cruz as a pinch hitter anymore.

Overall on the bright side our bullpen has instantly become a plus bullpen. Alphabet replacing Miller, Dotel replacing Walters, and McClellan returning to the pen should improve it dramatically.

I'm sorry to see Frasor, Rzepczynski, and Stewart depart the Jays. (At least Frasor got to set the all-time team appearances record before he left.) And I don't really care about Teahen, Walters, or Tallet.

It's your team now, TLR. This team will probably win this crap division by a game or two and validate, in the eyes of too many, everything that's happened over the last six months or so. #### me.

Even acknowledging that TLR forced the trade, it's Mo's fault he didn't get anything in return. Mo's speed dial only has four GM's on it (SD, Sea, Tor and Chw) he needs a bigger phonebook.

Philly is desperate for a centerfielder, Rasmus is a talent that is a multiple year reward so there is a lot out there he could have gotten, but instead he gets a nothing starter and a couple of relievers. The only plus is the ability to get rid of crappy lefties to try and ween TLR off of his fetishes of putting in worse relievers just because of their handedness.

I MAY be in Calgary August-ish 2012 for a wedding, if so I'd definitely be in Regina for a while (if I go out west I plan on spending as little time in Caglary as is humanly possible). So we can test out the laws of the universe then, if the Mayans haven't beat us to it.